An Abecedarian of Animal Spirit Guides: Spiritual Growth through Reflections on Creatures
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Mark G. Boyer
Mark G. Boyer, a well-known spiritual master, has been writing books on biblical, liturgical, and devotional spirituality for over fifty years. He has authored seventy previous books, including two books of history and one novel. His work prompts the reader to recognize the divine in everyday life. This is his thirtieth Wipf and Stock title.
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An Abecedarian of Animal Spirit Guides - Mark G. Boyer
An Abecedarian of Animal Spirit Guides
Spiritual Growth through Reflections on Creatures
Mark G. Boyer
22594.pngAn Abecedarian of Animal Spirit Guides
Spiritual Growth through Reflections on Creatures
Copyright ©
2016
Mark G. Boyer. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers,
199
W.
8
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97401
.
Wipf & Stock
An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers
199
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8
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www.wipfandstock.com
paperback isbn 13: 978-1-4982-3792-5
hardcover isbn 13: 978-1-4982-3794-9
ebook isbn 13: 978-1-4982-3793-2
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
Dedicated to the Kosslers:
John, Amy, Ethan, Jacob
Praise the LORD from the earth,You sea monsters and all deeps . . . .Wild animals and all cattle,Creeping things and flying birds!Let them praise the name of the LORD,For his name alone is exalted;His glory is above earth and heaven.
(Ps
148
:
7
,
10
,
13
)
". . . [A]sk the animals, and they will teach you;the birds of the air, and they will tell you;. . . and the fish of the sea will declare to you.Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of every human being."
(Job
12
:
7
,
8
b–
10
)
Ever since the creation of the world [God’s] eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are,have been understood and seen through the things he has made.
(Rom
1
:
20
)
The Master said, . . . [T]he songs . . . will widen your acquaintance with the names of birds, beasts, plants, and trees.
(Analects
17
:
9
)
Commendable is the taming Of mind, which is hard to hold down,Nimble, alighting wherever it wants.Mind subdued brings ease.
(Dhp
3
:
35
)
There is not a creature that moves on the earth whose nourishment is not provided by God,whose place of sojourning and depositing is not known to him.All things conform to a manifest law.
(Quran
11
:
6
)
[The dawn], stirring up the world, has shown us riches;dawn has awakened every living creature.Rich dawn, she sets afoot the coiled-up sleeper,One for enjoyment, one for wealth or worship.Those who saw little for extended vision.All living creatures has the dawn awakened.One to high sway, one to exalted glory,one to pursue his gain, and one his labor;all to regard their different vocations, all moving creatures has the dawn awakened.
(RV
1
:
113
:
4
b–
6
)
Table of Contents
Abbreviations
Notes on Sacred Texts
Introduction
Chapter 1: Ass (Donkey)
Chapter 2: Bear
Chapter 3: Bee
Chapter 4: Camel
Chapter 5: Dog
Chapter 6: Dove (Turtledove)
Chapter 7: Eagle
Chapter 8: Elephant
Chapter 9: Fox
Chapter 10: Goat
Chapter 11: Hedgehog
Chapter 12: bex
Chapter 13: Jackal
Chapter 14: Kudu (Antelope)
Chapter 15: Leviathan (Behemoth, Rahab, Dragon)
Chapter 16: Lion
Chapter 17: Mule Deer
Chapter 18: Nighthawk
Chapter 19: Owl
Chapter 20: Partridge
Chapter 21: Quarter Horse
Chapter 22: Raven
Chapter 23: Rooster (Cock)
Chapter 24: Serpent (Snake)
Chapter 25: Sheep (Ram, Ewe, Lamb)
Chapter 26: Tadpole (Frog)
Chapter 27: Turtle (Tortoise)
Chapter 28: Unicorn
Chapter 29: Vulture
Chapter 30: Wolf
Chapter 31: Yak (Ox)
Chapter 32: Zebu (Cattle, Bull, Cow, Steer, Heifer, Calf)
Bibliography
Other Books by Mark G. Boyer
Abbreviations
Aesop = Aesop’s Fables
Analects = The Analects of Confucius
CB (NT) = Christian Bible (New Testament)
1 Cor = First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians
2 Cor = Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians
Heb = Letter to the Hebrews
John = John’s Gospel
Luke = Luke’s Gospel
Mark = Mark’s Gospel
Matt = Matthew’s Gospel
1 Pet = First Letter of Peter
2 Pet = Second Letter of Peter
Phil = Letter of Paul to the Philippians
Rev = Revelation
Rom = Letter of Paul to the Romans
2 Tim = Second Letter of Paul to Timothy
Dhp = The Dhammapada
D&C = The Book of Doctrine and Covenants
Grimm = Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tales
HB (OT) = Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)
Amos = Amos
1 Chr = First Book of Chronicles
2 Chr = Second Book of Chronicles
Dan = Daniel
Deut = Deuteronomy
Eccl = Ecclesiastes
Esth = Esther
Exod = Exodus
Ezek = Ezekiel
Ezra = Ezra
Gen = Genesis
Hab = Habakkuk
Hos = Hosea
Isa = Isaiah
Jer = Jeremiah
Job = Job
Joel = Joel
Jonah = Jonah
Josh = Joshua
Judg = Judges
1 Kgs = First Book of Kings
2 Kgs = Second Book of Kings
Lam = Lamentations
Lev = Leviticus
Mal = Malachi
Mic = Micah
Nah = Nahum
Neh = Nehemiah
Num = Numbers
Obad = Obadiah
Prov = Proverbs
Ps = Psalm
1 Sam = First Book of Samuel
2 Sam = Second Book of Samuel
Zech = Zechariah
Zeph = Zephaniah
Mormon = The Book of Mormon
Alma = Alma
Enos = Enos
Ether = Ether
Hel = Helman
Mosiah = Mosiah
Morm = Mormon
1 Ne = First Book of Nephi
2 Ne = Second Book of Nephi
3 Ne = Third Book of Nephi
OT (A) = Old Testament (Apocrypha)
Bar = Baruch
Jdt = Judith
1 Macc = First Book of Maccabees
2 Macc = Second Book of Maccabees
4 Macc = Fourth Book of Maccabees
Sir = Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)
Tob = Book of Tobit
Wis = Wisdom (of Solomon)
Quran = The Quran
RV = The Rig Veda
Notes on Sacred Texts
The Analects of Confucius
The Analects of Confucius contains twenty numbered books. In notating texts from this book, abbreviated Analects, the first number refers to the book, and the second number refers to the paragraph within the book. Thus, Analects 13:19 means that the quotation comes from book 13, paragraph 19.
The Bible
The Bible is divided into two parts: The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the Christian Bible (New Testament). The Hebrew Bible consists of thirty-nine named books accepted by Jews and Protestants as Holy Scripture. The Old Testament also contains those thirty-nine books plus seven to fifteen more named books or parts of books called the Apocrypha or the Deuterocanonical Books; the Old Testament is accepted by Catholics and several other Christian denominations as Holy Scripture. The Christian Bible, consisting of twenty-seven named books, is also called the New Testament; it is accepted by Christians as Holy Scripture. Thus, in this work:
— Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), abbreviated HB (OT), indicates that a book is found both in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament;
— Old Testament (Apocrypha), abbreviated OT (A), indicates that a book is found only in the Old Testament Apocrypha and not in the Hebrew Bible;
— and Christian Bible (New Testament), abbreviated CB (NT), indicates that a book is found only in the Christian Bible or New Testament.
Unless otherwise noted, the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible is used throughout this work.
In notating biblical texts, the first number refers to the chapter in the book, and the second number refers to the verse within the chapter. Thus, HB (OT) Isa 7:11 means that the quotation comes from Isaiah, chapter 7, verse 11. OT (A) Sirach 39:30 means that the quotation comes from Sirach, chapter 39, verse 30. CB (NT) Mark 6:2 means that the quotation comes from Mark’s Gospel, chapter 6, verse 2.
Book of Doctrine and Covenants
The Book of Doctrine and Covenants contains 140 numbered and named sections, each of which is subdivided into numbered paragraphs. In notating texts from this book, abbreviated D&C, the first number refers to the section in the book, and the second number refers to the paragraph within the section. Thus, D&C 12:1 means that the quotation comes from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, section 12, paragraph 1.
The Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon contains fifteen named books. In notating texts from this book, abbreviated Mormon, the first number refers to the chapter in the named book, and the second number refers to the verse within the chapter. Thus, 1 Ne 6:9 means that the quotation comes from the First Book of Nephi, chapter 6, verse 9.
The Dhammapada
The Dhammapada contains twenty-six named chapters, each of which is subdivided into 423 continuously numbered paragraphs. In notating texts from this book, abbreviated Dhp, the first number refers to the chapter, and the second number refers to the paragraph within the chapter. Thus, 26:383 means that the quotation comes from chapter 26, paragraph 383.
The Quran
The Quran contains 114 numbered and named books. In notating texts from this book, abbreviated Quran, the first number refers to the book, and the second number refers to the verse within the book. Thus, 23:34 means that the quotation comes from book 23, verse 34.
The Rig Veda
The Rig Veda contains ten numbered books, each of which is subdivided into numbered hymns, and each hymn is subdivided into numbered verses. In notating texts from this book, abbreviated RV, the first number refers to the book, the second number refers to the hymn within the book, and the third number refers to the verse within the hymn. Thus, 3:30:4 means that the quotation comes from book 3, hymn 30, verse 4.
Introduction
Title of Book
This book is titled An Abecedarian of Animal Spirit Guides: Spiritual Growth through Reflections on Creatures. As we look at each part of the title, keep in mind that this book is designed to foster the spiritual growth of people through reflections on thirty-two animals arranged in alphabetical order.
Abecedarian
An abecedarian, as its onomatopoetic sound (a, b, c, d) suggests, is a book whose contents are in alphabetical order. For our purposes here, animals are chosen to coincide with the letters of the alphabet. Thus, the first entry begins with a, the second with b, the third with c, etc. While there are only twenty-six letters in the alphabet, there are thirty-two entries in this tome; this means that some letters get more than one entry, and x has no entry.
Animal
The word animal
is being used in its broadest understanding as a living organism that is distinguished from plants by independent movement and responsive sense organs. I take the same position as that of Thomas Berry, namely, [t]he universe is composed of subjects to be communed with, not of objects to be exploited.
¹ Thus, the universe as a whole and in each of its individual components has an intangible inner form as well as a tangible physical structure.
² More will be said about this below, but suffice it to be said now that humans are connected to animals in an intimacy that is beyond description.
Spirit
Animals have religious significance in most, if not all, cultures. If it is not the animal itself that is honored, then it is an aspect of the animal that is applied to the human. A human may run like a deer; this implies that humans and deer have something in common. A human may be as strong as a bull; this implies that humans and bulls have something in common. A human may be as wise as an owl; this implies that humans and owls have something in common. Thus, knowing animals, and in some sense being known by them, fosters self-knowledge and social cohesion in the universal context of life, especially the spiritual movement in the broader cosmos. The author of the longer ending of Mark’s Gospel in the CB (NT) seems to have understood this when he portrays the risen Jesus telling the eleven apostles, Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation
(Mark 16:15; cf. Col 1:23). The good news of the death and resurrection of Jesus is to be proclaimed universally; this implies that animals, too, need to hear this good news, and humans need to listen as animals proclaim it to them, too.
The best example of a human who understood the religious aspect of animals is St. Francis of Assisi. This famous twelfth- to the thirteenth-century saint is often depicted standing in a birdbath and using his arms as a perch for several flying creatures. In some depictions, a wolf stands near his feet. He is the patron saint of animals and the environment. Many stories about him preaching the good news to animals and listening as they reply surround the life of the poor man of Assisi. The second line of his Canticle of the Sun,
praises the Lord God with all his creatures.
Francis understood that animals tell us about ourselves and about the divine. God’s spirit is in all things; God’s finger prints can be seen on every creature. The intangible inner form that Berry mentions above is the universal divine—no matter what name one gives to him, her, or it—and how all things spirit are both connected to and flow from the one pervading source. This is what the epigrams that open this book are about. The HB (OT) Psalm 148 calls upon every living thing to praise the name of its creator. Job, too, knows that the animals have a lot to teach humans, since both share the breath of life, another way to speak about spirit. Even the fiery St. Paul knows that the invisible power and divine nature of God are invisible, but they can be seen in the animals he made.
Confucius, the master teacher, exhorts his pupils to sing songs in order to learn the names of birds and beasts, among other things. Hinduism compares the mind to a wild animal that needs to be tamed, held down, subdued. Moslems are reminded that every creature on earth is nourished by God. And, as The Rig Veda makes clear, the dawn awakens every living creature to his or her appointed task, that is, to his or her vocation.
According to The Quran, all animals worship God. "Creation of the heavens and the earth . . . and the scattering of beasts of all kinds upon it are surely signs for the wise," states Allah in Islam’s Holy Book (Quran 2:164). Another verse asks the reader, "Do you see how all things in heaven and the earth, the . . . beasts, and men in abundance, pay homage to God?" (Quran 22:19) He . . . dispersed on it all varieties of creatures . . .
(Quran 31:10). . . . [A]ll the moving things (on earth) are signs for people firm in faith
(Quran 45:4).
In other words, the word spirit
indicates that there is spirituality to animal and human dialogue. Sheldrake writes that spirituality concerns a fully integrated approach to life (holism), involves a quest for the ‘sacred,’ underpins a desire for meaning, and implies some understanding of human identity, purpose, and thriving.
³ He adds that spirituality points to a desire for ultimate values and invokes the intentional pursuit of a principled rather than purely pragmatic way of life.
⁴ Because we share the planet with creatures, they are not objects to be exploited, as Berry states above; they have the ability to help us reach (w)holeness if we learn their wisdom and integrate it into our lives. Spirituality demands that the intangible God be made tangible in some way; this quest for the sacred can be somewhat satisfied by entering into dialogue with some animals through the use of this book. The human desire for meaning which requires an understanding of self, that is, an identity which is both distinct from others and similar to other humans and animals, also involves having a purpose for the years we inhabit the third rock from the sun with creatures of all shapes and sizes. Hopefully, we thrive together, but this takes intentionality grounded in a disciplined way of life. This means that we have to spend time with our fellow creatures, either face to face at the zoo, in our back yard, on the farm, or in the woods.
Guide
Once we are focused on learning from animals, then we begin to realize that they can serve as guides, leading us deeper and deeper into the divine life we share with them. All creatures are interconnected through the Creator, through creation, through the breath of life, and through our shared purpose as Adam’s helpmates in serving God,
states Kemmerer.⁵ The stories and animal images that abound reveal the close connection between humans and creatures, the dialogue that has taken place between them. Sometimes referred to as totems, the mystic bond between the spirit, the place, and the people,
⁶ many native peoples narrate stories about receiving help or guidance from an animal.
Thus, an animal spirit guide is one who is more in touch with the spiritual than most people are. The animal discloses something, such as essence, being, spirit, about its creator in a degree that is less than human, but nevertheless divine. In the HB (OT), the psalmist declares that human beings are a little lower than God (cf. Ps 8:5) in whose image they are created and have dominion over all creatures. The CB (NT) Letter to the Colossians declares that Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God
(Col 1:15). He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together
(Col 1:17). This means that Christ is all and in all (cf. Col 3:11). This same idea is captured in Eucharistic Prayer III in The Roman Missal: . . . O Lord, . . . you give life to all things and make them holy . . . .
⁷ . . . Father most holy, . . . you have fashioned all your works in wisdom and in love. . . . [Y]our Only Begotten Son . . . sent the Holy Spirit from you, Father, . . . so that . . . he might sanctify creation to the full.
⁸
Christ sent the Holy Spirit to sanctify creation to the full after becoming human and dying on the cross. Jesus Christ was simultaneously human and divine and a sacrificial animal whose carcass on the cross awaited the re-enlivening Spirit of God. As God incarnate, Jesus’ corporeality is a given; St. Paul states that he once knew Christ from a human point of view
(2 Cor 5:16). The New American Bible Revised Edition translates that verse as knowing Christ according to the flesh.
His animal, human, body received an enlivening substance, like blood, that contained life’s very force—what we identify as spirit or divinity. The Spirit that enlivened the animal body of Jesus has also sanctified creation—all animals—to the full. Animals are not just meat, leather, or horn; they are bearers of the spirit, just like people are. God became a human animal to show human animals how to embrace spirit. Because humans share this spiritual connection with each other and with the other creatures on the planet, the animals can teach them spirituality.
In other words, animals are beckoned by and carriers of the Spirit, manifestations of the God who created them. Some spiritual writers refer to this as concrescence, the experience of the world through prehension, total perception by the senses. If this concept is applied to God, then he—in terms of spirit or divinity—becomes the concrescent subject, in whom everywhere at once the many of the universe are perceived as being one. Thus, an animal can be a revelation; it attracts a person and speaks to him or her about spirit, participating in God’s own truth and inexhaustibility. In other words, a person sees an animal as an expression of grace.
Because divinity is disguised by the skin of various creatures, a spirit guide is needed to get under that skin. A spirit guide helps us to experience transcendence through immanence. The spirit guide leads us to the divine. While the sacred is often defined in opposition to the profane—such as the recognition of something that is wholly other, something basically and totally different that appears to our conscious awareness
⁹—it is better to think of it as an act of manifestation
that is, a hierophany, to use Eliade’s word.¹⁰ Consolmagno says that we find the unexpected hidden among the mudane
which is the pattern of how we experience God in the real world.
¹¹ A spirit guide leads a person to see a connection between the mundane human and the unexpected divine. What appears in the world as immanent is at the same time a representation of what we take to be the transcendent.
¹² In other words, . . . [W]e recognize God when the story is true. That truth is God’s presence; God is truth.
¹³
Spiritual Growth through Reflections on Creatures
People visit zoos and maintain them in order to experience the divine; they want to see the animals they are. They want to experience the union between themselves and the divine that comes through the spirit guide animal. We see how important this was to ancient Greek and Roman cultures. In their attempt to get at this idea, there developed the half-animal, half-human creatures, such as the satyr and centaur (half man, half horse), minotaur (half man, half bull), faun (half man, half goat), and mermaid (half woman, half fish). Thus, there was a fusion of human and animal, of human spirit and animal spirit. For many native peoples this was accomplished by dressing in the skin of the animal and/or wearing a mask shaped into the face of the animal and/or carving a totem of the animal. About all that survives today of this concept are the animal names given to sports teams. There has to be some connection between the human and the animal to begin to see the manifestation of the divine in each.
In order for humans to see animals as manifestations, hierophanies, of spirit, they have to stop looking at them as items to be consumed with the eyes, mouth, or emotions. That for what we look is what we find. Being present, mindful of the here and now, resting in awareness, enables one to see the ants moving in procession one behind the other over the sidewalk as individuals submitting themselves to a community, working together for the common good of the anthill. Instead of sweeping them away or spraying them with insect killer, the ants serve as spiritual guides, spiritual teachers, just like many other animals can. Contacting this deeper understanding or plumbing the depths of the universal spirit is referred to as blood in the HB (OT) Book of Leviticus. The Hebrew LORD forbids the eating of blood "for the life of the flesh is in the blood; and [he] has given it . . ." (Lev 17:11). An animal or bird that is killed for food must have its blood poured into the earth, that is, given back to the source from which all was made. For every creature its blood is its life. The life of every creature is its blood (cf. Lev 17:14). All blood, life, spirit is sacred. An animal spirit guide can facilitate our viewing of this manifestation of divinity.
In the eternal dialogue between the human and the animal, the animal spirit guide assists the human to hear the divine. In the HB (OT) only a snake and a donkey speak, but in other texts other animals have a lot to say, especially in the fables and tales narrated by Aesop and Grimm. By our attentiveness, the animals’ wisdom can be heard and come through to people in silence. The prophet Isaiah, as we will see, presents animals and humans in harmony in the new world order. As we saw above, the Letter to the Colossians refers to this as being all in all. Paul’s letters to the Corinthians and the Letter to the Ephesians capture this in terms of the one body of Christ. In the Book of Revelation, John of Patmos sees a new Jerusalem descending from heaven to the earth with its new creation.
Organization of this Book
A five-part exercise is offered for every one of the thirty-two entries.
1. The name of an animal indicates the focus of the chapter. As indicated above, the entries are arranged in abecedarian format. For several entries the name of the animal is followed by a parenthesis indicating other names for the animal, such as Turtle (Tortoise).
2. A few verses or sentences from a text are provided. The text may be from the Bible (Hebrew Bible [Old Testament], Old Testament [Apocrypha], Christian Bible [New Testament]), from a world religion (The Book of Mormon, The Quran, The Dhammapada, The Rig Veda, The Analects of Confucius), from a fable, a tale, a legend, or a story (Aesop, Grimm), or from some other source that illustrates a truth about the animal under consideration.
3. A reflective study follows the text. The reflection presents some of the context for the text, attempting to surface its meaning. It also presents other references to the animal in other sources. The reflective study is not be understood as exhaustive of the presence of the animal in biblical, world religions, fables, tales, legends, stories, or other texts. The study is a sampling, a sketch of the animal spirit guide across religions and cultures. It is designed to get the reader to stop and consider the wondrous works of God (cf. Job 37:14). Some entries go into more detail than others. Thus, some reflective studies are longer than others, and some are shorter than others.
4. The reflection is followed by a question for journaling and/or personal meditation. The question functions as a guide for personal appropriation of the message of the reflective study, thus leading the reader into journaling and/or personal prayer. The journal/meditation question is designed to foster a process of actively applying the reflection to one’s life. The question gets one started; where the journal/meditation goes cannot be predetermined. It may be a single statement or an idea with which one lingers for a few minutes, a few hours, or a few days. The process has no end; the reader decides when he or she has finished exploring the topic because he or she needs to attend to other things.
5. A prayer concludes the exercise and summarizes the original theme announced in the title, which was studied and explored in the reflection and which served as the foundation for the meditation.
Using This Book
This book can be used at any time a person desires to develop further his or her spiritual life. It can be used in one’s home as a daily exercise for a month, or the parts of each entry may be spread over several days or a week. A reader may take it to the zoo and, while sitting on a bench watching an animal, read the entry and reflect upon the spiritual truths learned from the creature. In warmer climates, one can sit in the back yard while listening to the sounds made by animals and read an entry, or a reader may choose to go to a farm, observe some of the animals there, and read the entry in this book about the animals in which one has an interest. This book can also be used during a retreat or on days set aside for reflection. Small groups of people might use it, reading its entries, sharing their reflections, and closing with its concluding prayer.
The book is designed to help the reader grow in spirituality using animals as spirit guides. The creatures on the earth, those which fly through the air, and those in the sea reveal the divine to us if we but open our eyes to see. Some of our human ancestors have recorded the truths learned from animals, and we are enriched by what they have left us. May our reflections further this spiritual journey and process for our descendants.
Mark G. Boyer
October 4, 2015
St. Francis of Assisi
1. Berry, Prologue,
8
.
2. Ibid.
3. Sheldrake, Spirituality,
22–23
.
4. Ibid.,
23
.
5. Kemmerer, Animals,
230
.
6. Spirit,
65
.
7. Roman Missal, par.
108
.
8. Ibid., par.
117
.
9. Eicher-Catt, Signs,
231
.
10. Ibid.
11. Consolmagno, Sci-fy Guy,
36
.
12. Eicher-Catt, Signs,
231
.
13. Consolmagno, Sci-fy Guy,
36
.
figure%2001.jpgAss (Donkey)
Text: . . . [T]he LORD opened the mouth of [Balaam’s] donkey, and it said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?’ Balaam said to the donkey, ‘Because you have made a fool of me!’ But the donkey said to Balaam, ‘Am I not your donkey, which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I been in the habit of treating you this way?’ And he said, ‘No.’
(Num 22:28–29a, 30)
Reflection: Until a few years ago, biblical translators rendered the name of the horse-like animal with long ears as ass. With the developing negative connotations of that word in common parlance, translations in English became donkey, ignoring the biblical connotation of ass as a wild animal and donkey as the domesticated form.
In the Hebrew Bible’s (Old Testament) Book of Numbers, Balaam was summoned by Balak, King of Moab, to curse the Israelites, who were preparing for war against the Moabites. However, God says to Balaam, You shall not go . . . ; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed
(Num 22:12). It is important to note the meaning of the word curse.
In contemporary understanding, curse
refers to vulgar language. In biblical understanding, however, curse
means to wish evil or destruction. Ancient people thought that if a prophet, like Balaam, wished evil upon the Israelites, Balak would easily defeat them.
Ultimately, Balaam sets out on the way to King Balak, but along the road God has sent an angel to serve as Balaam’s adversary. His ass can see the angel, but he cannot. When his donkey veers off the road to avoid the angel, Balaam strikes the ass three times. The three times serves to alert the reader that a theophany is about to occur, that is, God is about to manifest himself to Balaam, and so he does when the ass begins to speak to the prophet. Ultimately, Balaam learns from his donkey that God’s angel was going to strike him, but the ass has saved his life. Once Balaam arrives at King Balak’s camp and sees the Israelites camped in the distance, he opens his mouth to curse the Israelites, but blessings come out instead! The ass saves Balaam from death, and God stops Balaam from cursing his chosen people. In the CB (NT), the author of the Second Letter of Peter refers to Balaam as one who was rebuked [by] a speechless donkey [which] spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness
(2 Pet 2:16).
The wild ass’s stubbornness, as presented in the above story, is used by the angel who appears to Hagar to describe Ishmael: He shall be a wild ass of a man,
states the angel, with his hand against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him; and he shall live at odds with all his kin
(Gen 16:12). Likewise, before he dies Jacob declares that his son Issachar is a strong donkey (cf. Gen 49:14a). Samson demonstrates his strength against the Philistines by taking a fresh jawbone of a donkey
and using it to kill one thousand men (Judg15:15).
The prophet Zechariah employs the donkey as an animal representing humility. Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
he writes. Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey
(Zech 9:9). The king does not arrive on a horse, the animal of war, but on a humble beast of burden. In the CB (NT), a few days before his crucifixion Jesus is presented riding into Jerusalem in peace on a donkey by all four gospel writers (cf. Mark 11:1–11; Matt 21:1–11; Luke 19:28–38; John 12:12–18). Jesus enters the city in humility where he will be humiliated even more when he is nailed to the cross.
An ass was considered an asset to ancient people. That is why the last commandment of the Decalogue declares that a person shall not covet, that is, yearn or strongly desire, his neighbor’s donkey (cf. Exod 20:17; Mosiah 13:24). This is also why on the seventh day (Sabbath) not only are people to rest, but the donkey may have